1. Preguntas generales para saludar (General questions for greetings)

• ¡Hola! (hi! / hello!)
• ¿Qué tal? (how is it going?)
• ¿Qué hay de nuevo? (what´s up / what´s new?)
• ¡Buenos días! (good morning!)
• ¡Buenas tardes! (good afternoon!)
• ¡Buenas noches! (good evening! / good night!)

Cómo usarlo
(How to use it)

All written questions (preguntas) in Spanish carry obligatory question marks or interrogative signs. Unlike English, Spanish has two question marks, one that opens the question (¿) and one that closes the question (?). For example: ¿Qué tal?, ¿Qué hay de nuevo?

Intonation is pivotal to asking preguntas in Spanish. A rule of thumb when asking questions in Spanish is to always slightly raise your voice at the beginning of the question and then add a higher pitch at the end of the question.

Spanish also has written obligatory exclamation marks when the speaker wants to emphasize a word or sentence that aims to attract the reader’s or listener’s attention. Unlike English, Spanish has two exclamation marks, one that opens the word or sentence (¡) and one that closes it (!). For example: ¡Hola!, ¡Buenos días!.

Buenos días is used from 0:00am to Noon.

Buenas tardes is used from Noon to 7 pm or until dark.

Buenas noches is used from darkness to Midnight.

2. Respuestas generales para saludos (General answers to greetings)

• Hola (hi / hello)
• Bien / más o menos / no muy bien (okay / so, so / not so good)
• Nada / no mucho (nothing / not much)
• Buenos días (good morning)
• Buenas tardes (good afternoon)
• Buenas noches (good night)

3. Expresiones para despedirse (Expressions to say goodbye)

4. Otras expresiones (Other expressions)

El abedecedario en español / El alfabeto en español
(The Alphabet in Spanish)

The letter Y is also known as (ye)

Cómo usarlo
(How to use it)

• Hola – The word “hola” in Spanish is spelled hache, o, ele, a.
• Bien – The word “bien” in Spanish is spelled be, i, e, ene.
• Nada – The word “nada” in Spanish is spelled ene, a, de, a.
• Buenas tardes – The expression “buenas tardes” in Spanish is spelled be, u, e, ene, a, ese / te, a, ere, de, e, ese.

Cómo pronunciar las letras del abecedario en palabras
(How to pronounce the letters of the alphabet in words)

Spanish has 5 vowels (vocales): A, E, I, O, U. In words, they are pronounced exactly the same as they are spelled out. For example, almendra (almond), estudiante (student), iglesia (church), opaco (opaque), unión (union). The closest sounds in English to master the pronunciation of vowels in Spanish are presented to you below:

A (ah)      E (eyh)    I (ee)     O (o)      U (oo)

All other letters (letras) are called consonants (consonantes). In words, the following consonants need attention:

• The letter H does not have sound in words. For example ¡hola!, hay, Honduras.
• The letter C has a strong sound in words, like kilo in English, when followed by a, o, u. For example Costa Rica, Carolina, cuaderno (notebook).
• The letter C has a soft sound in words, like supper in English, when followed by e, i. For example cinema, celebridad (celebrity). In Spain, the C soft sound in words sounds like the English sound th as in lethal, breath, through.
• The letter G has a strong sound in words, like gossip in English, when followed by a, o. For example gato (male cat), gobierno (government). When followed by u, the strong sound is maintained but the vowel u is omitted. For example guitarra.
• The letter G has a soft sound in words when followed by e, i. The closest sound in English would be the h sound in words as in hero. For example gente (people), gigante (giant).
• The letter J has the same sound as the G soft sound in Spanish. For example joven (young), extranjero (foreigner), jugo (juice).
• The letter Ñ is NOT the same as the letter N in Spanish. The closest sound in English would be the sound ny as in the word canyon. For example España (Spain), mañana (tomorrow, morning), muñeca (doll, wrist).
• The letters S and Z have the same sound as the C soft sound in Spanish. For example Sofía, sonido (sound), zapatos (shoes), zanahorias (carrots). In Spain, the letter Z also sounds like the English sound th as in lethal, breath, through.
• The letter R has both a strong and a soft sound in words. It has a strong sound when it is at the beginning of a word. For example ratón (mouse), radio, rodeo, Roma. It has a soft sound, like the sound r in English, when it is in the middle of a word. For example, Carolina, zanahorias, extranjero. Some words in Spanish have the spelling RR (doble ere) in the middle of the word as in carreta (cart), carrusel (carousel). In this case, the spelling RR has the same sound as the R strong in Spanish.
• The letter Y has the same sound as the English sound ye as in yellow, Nueva York. For example yuca (yucca), yo (I), Yucatán. If a word in Spanish finishes with the letter Y then the sound is like the letter i in Spanish. For example, Uruguay, hoy (today), voy (I go), soy (I am).
• Some words in Spanish have the spelling LL (doble ele). For example, lluvia (rain), llamar (to call), Calle (street). In this case, the spelling LL has the same sound as the letter Y in Spanish. In Argentina and Uruguay, the sounds Y and LL sound like the English sound sh as in shop, shadow, and short.
• Some words in Spanish have the spelling CH (ce and hache). For example, chao (bye), chocolate, chica (girl). In this case, the spelling CH sounds like the English sound ts as in catch, coach.
• The letter Q has the same sound as the English sound q as in quantity, and qualification. When followed by u, the vowel u is omitted. For example queso (cheese), lo que (what, which), quemar (to burn).

Relación entre lengua y cultura (Language and culture relationship)

Nombres de ciudades en el mundo hispanohablante
(Names of cities in the Spanish-speaking world)

Many names of cities (ciudades) in Spanish are a representation of the influence of the Catholic Religion in the Spanish-speaking world. Many names of cities and countries (países) also represent the influence of Indigenous cultures and communities in Spanish-speaking countries.

Por ejemplo (for example):

1. Santo Domingo
2. La Paz
3. San Juan
4. (Santa Fe de) Bogotá
5. (San Francisco de) Quito
6. Asunción
7. San José
8. Tegucigalpa
9. La Habana
10. Atacama
11. Paraguay
12. Caracas
13. Lima
14. Uruguay